Chapter 18: Shindig

Vanessa picked her apple back up and continued eating. "Why don't you pick up that book and try to find out?"

Pinkie hadn't touched her apple yet. She picked it up, eying it uncertainly. "You haven't pumped this up with any sort of performance spells, have you, Vanessa?"

"Oh, no ma'am, it's clean. I haven't messed with that stuff in years."

Pinkie took a bite, cautiously, but seemed to calm down after the first few chews.

Vanessa handed The book back to Pepper. "You're obviously the one leading this party," she said, "Why don't you see what the next stop is?"

Pepper took the book. He didn't really want to see what happened next in a book that seemed to tell a story in the vaguest way possible. He was the type of person that preferred to be told things directly. This ambiguity was driving him bonkers.

"Go on, Pepper, she's probably right, we won't learn any more unless you open that book," said Pinkie.

Hesitantly, Pepper opened the cover. Like last time, the first page remained blank. "Nothing."

"Keep reading, kid," Vanessa said.

He flipped to the sixth page, where he'd seen the green dot the first time, but now that page was blank, too. Then, he had a really stupid idea: He turned all the way to the last page.

But an image had already begun to form. It was a blue heart, with a swirly, white design in the middle.

"So, what's this supposed to mean?" Pepper held up the book so the murffle and Vanessa could see it, too.

"Huh," Vanessa grunted. "Guess that's conjunction number two."

"What do you mean?" asked Pinkie.

But Vanessa was already digging through piles of junk and paper lying around her living room. "Gimmie just a sec," she said, buried under one such pile. After a time, she pulled out a small rectangle and handed it to Pepper. "There."

"What is it?" Pinkie asked.

Pepper read from the paper: "'You are hereby invited to attend the annual Throwbanger's Ball, a festive celebration of merriment and splendor. To be held at the Plantation.'"

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. "What's that got to do with what Pepper read?"

He flipped the invitation around so Pinkie could see. The heart symbol was at the top of the invitation.

"Guess it means you're supposed to make an appearance," Vanessa said.

"But this invitation says the party isn't until tomorrow night," Pepper said, reading off of the paper. "And anyway, this invitation has your name on it."

"Aw, don't worry about me, kid. I go every year. It's just a bunch of muckity-mucks living it up and telling each other how great they are." Vanessa waved in the air with her hand as if indicating the air-headedness of the event. "And of course," she put her arm around Pinkie, "you two are welcome to stay the night here if you want. I'll even teach you a thing or two about Pound!" She knocked Pepper's arm in much the same way she had previously tackled Pinkie. Pepper found that Vanessa hit a smidge harder than she probably intended to.

Pepper smiled at her. "Is that okay with you, Pinkie? Do you have anywhere else you need to visit today?"

He could tell that she was chewing over the incident with Och. "No," she said, "I think we're fine to stay here until tomorrow."

"That's great, guys!" Vanessa yelled, grabbing them up in an awkward, squeezing hug. "Hey, listen, I've gotta run a few quick errands, but I'll be back in less than an hour, okay? Pinkie, you'll be fine here alone with the kid, right?"

"Sure thing," Pinkie squeaked through her squashed lungs.

"Okay, great!" Vanessa let them go, grabbed a coat and opened the door. "See you guys later!" As she left, Pepper couldn't help but notice her well-formed backside.